Facebook says preferential data access was with user permission

Posted - December 19 201819:40

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Facebook says preferential data access was with user permission

Satterfield also said that Facebook had made errors in its handling of these partnerships, which allowed continued use of data after the formal agreements had ended, and that it was now working to terminate many of them. It revealed how the social media giant considered these companies business partners and exempted them from its privacy rules.

According to Facebook director of privacy and public policy Steve Satterfield, none of the partnerships violated users' privacy or FTC regulations, and the companies were required to abide by Facebook policies.

But it's Netflix and Spotify's arrangements that are the most shocking: the report claims that the companies had the "ability to read Facebook users' private messages".

The report alleges that Facebook allowed companies to see the names of a user's entire friends list without permission, and in some cases gave them access to users' private messages.

The report also says Amazon could see users' names and contact information through their friends and that Yahoo could see friends' posts as recently as this summer.

Facebook is also said to have shared information with media companies, online retailers and automakers, among other tech companies. As the NYT report said, Facebook may have never sold user data fearing user backlash, but it definitely did the next best thing by granting other companies access to its "most prized asset".

Spotify could reportedly view the messages of more than 70 million users each month.

A number of firms still had this special access to data even when they no longer needed it; some, including Apple, told the paper they didn't even know they had been granted special access.

The social network has been under intense pressure over its practices over the past year, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, a series data breaches and concerns over fake news and other content on the site.

Damian Collins, the chair of the UK's DCMS committee, said the news "shows that Facebook offers preferential access to user data to some of its major corporate partners".

The deals, the oldest of which date to 2010, were all active in 2017, with some still in effect this year.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Amazon.com, Inc.

It's not the first time this year that Facebook has been indicted in a security scandal - in fact, it's been a awful year for the social media company, with the Cambridge Analytica scandaland multiple security breaches bringing it into disrepute.

Facebook said the users needed to sign in with their Facebook account to use these features offered by the likes of Apple and Amazon.

Alex Stamos, a security researcher at Stanford university, and formerly Facebook's chief information security officer, argued that some integrations of the kind revealed could be good for users, but that it was unclear which were or weren't.

"Our integration partners had to get authorization from people".

Facebook has published a blog post, in which it responds to the allegations and defends its practices. The NYT notes that unlike Europe, where tech firms have to abide by strict privacy regulations, USA law leaves them free to monetize personal data as long as they don't deceive users.

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Meanwhile, the EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has insisted that the agreement with Theresa May is the only deal on offer. It is meant to ensure there is no return to a hard border between British-ruled Northern Ireland and EU-member Ireland.

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Memphis will also send Washington a 2020 second-round pick and a 2019 conditional second-round pick via Boston, the sources said. Ariza is one of the most important trade assets for the Suns - and their best chance to bolster their backcourt and gain assets.

The Times also reports that hackers also gained access to health insurers and security clearance files of millions of Americans. The New York Times says the us government is working on a response that includes indictments of those believed to be involved.

In one meeting Kelly allegedly called Trump "an idiot" and said it was "pointless to try to convince him of anything". Like his father-in-law, he left NY real estate to become one of Washington's most powerful political players.

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